Jennifer Kathryn Lund: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: LibertyvilleWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Libertyville Elementary D70Age: 40Family: I have been married for 18 years to my husband Michael. We have two children attending schools in District 70. Max is a sixth grader at Highland Middle School, and Katie is a fifth grader at Adler Park School.Occupation: I worked at Abbott Laboratories as a scientist researching HIV until my son was born very prematurely, and I stayed home to ensure his well-being. I have recently returned to work as the Student Services Secretary for Highland Middle School.Education: I have a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.Civic involvement: I was involved in the Girl Scout organization, including serving as a leader for two years, but most of my civic involvement has been concentrated in District 70. For the past seven years, I have had the pleasure of working as a volunteer at all levels of the district. As a classroom volunteer, I have worked with students who struggle with academics as well as those who need enrichment. I served as the vice president of the Rockland Family Association for two years, and then co-president for a year. My children attended Adler Park School for fourth and fifth grade, and I joined the Adler Family Association as vice president. At the district level, I was a member of the Family Associations of District 70 Board (the parent group that is the liaison between district administration and families of the district) for three years and served as the secretary of that board for one year. I have served on several District 70 interview committees for the selection of our administrators. These positions have helped me to gain a well-rounded knowledge of district happenings.Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 My desire to join District 70#146;s school board is not motivated by a need to correct specific issues. I believe that our board has done a wonderful job, and it shows in the strength of our schools. However, I do have three special interests that contribute to my motivation for running for the District 70 School Board.Having been very involved with many teachers throughout my seven years in the district, I am continually amazed by the superlative effort put forth by our teaching staff in a demanding academic environment. I have a special interest in continuing the support for their new ideas and hard work, and encouraging the formulation of creative solutions to the problems they face. District 70 has strong academics, and students#146; standardized test scores reflect this. But much more is expected of our educators; differentiation for all students so that they may reach their individual potential, 21st century learning goals such as good communication skills, problem solving, and self-directed learning, and encouragement of citizenship and good character through our Character Counts program. It is a tall order to support all of these facets of learning, and District 70#146;s success demonstrates how many are working hard to achieve these goals. I have a great desire to ensure that District 70#146;s educators are supported by providing them with opportunities for continued education, support for meeting classroom differentiation needs, planning time, and a realistic expectation of goals to be met.Key Issue 2 District 70 Special Education is of great interest to me. My son has been receiving special education services since he started attending school in District 70. While his support staff has always been fantastic and I am thrilled with the progress he has made, I have found that the process of determining what will help a child with special needs and then helping the school to execute that plan can be bewildering, no matter what level help is needed. I have had many conversations with parents of other children with special needs, including those who receive services and those who do not; many could benefit from someone on the school board taking a special interest in this aspect of the district.Key Issue 3 Lastly, I want to encourage more community involvement with the board. For me, this is an extension of what I enjoy doing now; talking with district families about their opinions and ideas. The District 70 School Board is seven voices among hundreds of families, and we need to know the priorities of a wide variety of families throughout district. I hope the concept of #147;education begins at home#148; for District 70 families encompasses more than the important tasks of reading to your child every night or supporting them in their homework, but also includes exemplifying 21st century characteristics as parents by communicating our needs, working together to solve problems that will help our students reach their potential, and working as a community to sustain District 70#146;s excellent reputation.Questions Answers How satisfied are you that your district is preparing students for the next stage in their lives, whether it be from elementary into high school or high school into college or full-time employment? What changes, if any, do you think need to be made?This question is very exciting to me because I can think of so many examples, big and small, that showcase District 70#146;s efforts to prepare our students for their future.Organizational skills are absolutely necessary for our students#146; future, so District 70 students are encouraged to use an assignment notebook to write down work to be completed at home. This may seem like a small thing, but the introduction of a consistent method (the book looks the same from year to year, K-5 through middle school) makes a big difference for a student who struggles to remember basic information from his or her day. In a similar vein, a Middle School Skills class is taught at Highland Middle School to help develop study skills and time management for the future.Technology is at the forefront of students#146; futures, and District 70 is fortunate to have specific staff devoted to creative project development. For example, students are creating wikis as assignments to convey the information they have learned. They blog about books they are reading. Part of the information shared during my daughter#146;s most recent parent-teacher conference was conveyed via an iMovie that she created. These projects offer a fun and creative way to engage students in learning technology, but another important piece of the curriculum involves teachers encouraging the use of technology in an appropriate manner. I have not only been impressed with the use of technology, but also with the careful guidance instilled in understanding its safe use. Much research and effort has been expended to continually improve District 70#146;s students#146; experiences with an eye to the future. I will continue to support the district#146;s efforts, basic to advanced, to prepare our students for their next challenges.What budget issues will the district have to confront? What measures do you support to address them? If cuts are needed, be specific about programs and expenses that should be reduced or eliminated. Do you support any tax increases for local schools?Our budget issues will continue to be focused in the area of keeping our school buildings well-maintained and updated. District 70 has completed an enormous amount of renovation over the past five years and will continue to update by replacing Butterfield School#146;s parking lot this summer.Technology also will play a role in budgetary concerns, as District 70 strives to stay up-to-date with the tools that will effectively advance our students#146; learning. A balance must be struck between acquisition of 21st century technology and fiscal responsibility.For the 2010-2011 school year, a creative cost-saving measure was introduced via a slight tweaking of District 70#146;s bus schedule, which will end up saving $100,000 over the next three years. Also on the horizon, District 70 is hopeful that there will be a rebate of taxes to the district from the Village of Libertyville#146;s downtown Tax Incremental Financing district.District 70 has a long history of financial responsibility, having earned the Certificate of Financial Recognition from the Illinois State Board of Education for the last seven years. Careful planning has made it possible for us to avoid drastic measures to balance our budget. I will support the continuation of attentive fiscal management.Is experience as a teacher or support from a union valuable because it suggests educational insights or detrimental because it creates pro-teacher bias? Please clarify whether you have such experience or would accept union support.Although I personally don#146;t have teaching experience, my opinion is that an experienced teacher can only help a school board. We expect our teachers to provide academic excellence, student motivation, technological innovation, differentiation, and a curriculum that inspires students to learn. The difficulty of executing these competing goals can be difficult for a person without a background in education to understand. However, I feel I have had the good fortune to spend a significant amount of time in our classrooms as well as working on classroom strategies and projects specific to my children and can appreciate the complexity of these goals. We ask for and receive a lot from our educators. It is important for school board members to listen to educators#146; ideas so that we can understand how to help them continue to succeed.As contract talks come up with various employee groups, what posture should the board take? Do you believe the district should ask for concessions, expect employee costs to stay about the same as they are now or provide increases in pay or benefits?The posture taken by our board should be continued support and respect for administration, teachers, and staff. District 70 boasts a long history of success; one recent example is Highland Middle School receiving the prestigious 2010 National Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence. District 70 families have come to expect excellence, and thus, we must provide a working experience commensurate with that expectation. That District 70#146;s instructional expenditure budget increased by 39 percent this year due to increased cost for health, dental, and life insurance for faculty demonstrates support for our staff. District 70 would like to attract and retain talented educators, so I would support our employee groups as much as possible within the framework of a balanced budget.If your district had a superintendent or other administrator nearing retirement, would you support a substantial increase in his or her pay to help boost pension benefits? Why or why not?Obviously, this is a newsworthy topic. In my opinion, the only answer in the current financial climate is no. As should be clear after reading my previous answers, I would strive to support District 70 staff and seek to continually improve their capacity for doing the best job they can. However, considering the economy and the relative dearth of financial support from outside our own community, I could not approve an increase in pay for administrators to boost pension benefits.